Gingo Animation
Gingo Animation, LLC., also known as Gingo Entertainment, or simply as Gingo, is an American animation studio that is a subsidiary of Universal Studios, a division of NBCUniversal, itself a division of Comcast. Founded by Geo G. in 1988, it is based in Burbank, California and produces animated feature films, short films and television programs. The studio concluded an agreement to co-produce and co-finance films with 20th Century Fox, and began a similar arrangement with Universal Studios in 2009. In December 2015, Universal purchased Gingo at a valuation of $6.7 billion, making it a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. Gingo has created and released some of the well-known franchises, such as Gabriel Garza, Hatty, Computerpolis, BJ and Wally, Woo La La, Quest and Imaginary Animals (2017) and other hits like Chicken and Hen (2012), The Planetokio Movie (2015) and Evolupia (2016). Gabriel Garza, the titular character from the eponymous series, is the studio's mascot. History 1982–1988 Gingo Animation was founded by Geo G. in 1982 as Geo G. Productions, and originally, was a division of Hanna-Barbera, before it was renamed Gingo in 1988, and separated from the studio. 1988–2008 In early 1988, Geo G. Productions was renamed as Gingo Feature Animation. In 1994, Gingo signed an agreement with 20th Century Fox to co-produce and co-finance up to 10 films over 14 years. The studio's first feature film was Gabriel's Fantastic Adventure, which was the first project produced for Fox and was released on November 4, 1994 to critical success. Their second film, Gabriel's Bogus Journey, which is a sequel to the 1994 film Gabriel's Fantastic Adventure, was released on December 13, 1996, though it did poorly at the box office. Gingo Interactive was a computer and video game developer and publisher founded in 1991 as a Gingo subsidiary that was best known for developing the Gabriel Garza series. In 2007, the company, however, went defunct for financial reasons. In 1993, Gingo created a division called Glass Ball Productions, which it typically produces animated films and television shows targeted to young adult audiences than those released under the Gingo name. In 2003, the studio was renamed as Gingo Animation. Due to the success of CGI animated films, Gingo decided the same year to exit hand-drawn animation business. Beginning with Computerpolis (2004), all released films were expected to be produced with CGI. On August 1, 2007, right before the release of Computerpolis 2, Variety reported that due to creative differences 20th Century Fox and Gingo Animation would not renew their distribution deal. The deal was officially terminated on April 30, 2008, with BJ and Wally: FusionMania being released in May as the final Gingo film distributed by Fox under their original distribution agreement. 2008–present In June 2008, Gingo signed a five-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures in which it will market, co-finance, and distribute Gingo's films starting in 2009. Woo La La was the first film released under the new agreement. The deal also includes co-funding via a loan by Universal to Gingo for production and access to slots in Universal's pay television agreement then with HBO. However, the deal did not include the distribution rights of previously released films, which Gingo acquired from Fox later in 2010. The 2009 releases of Woo La La and Swapped marked the first time Gingo released two films in one calendar year. Gingo and Universal attempted to reach a new agreement for ten months before it fell through in January 2012. The new deal would be only for distribution, as Gingo intended to control production and own the resulting film properties themselves. The company also wanted to finance their films on their own and collect 100 percent of the profits, paying Universal only the distribution fee. More importantly, as part of any distribution agreement with Universal, Gingo demanded control over films already in post-production, production and underway under their old agreement, including from Chicken and Hen (2012) to Gabriel and the Wacky Pack 2 (2014). Universal considered these conditions unacceptable, but Gingo would not concede. Geo G. declared that Gingo was actively seeking partners other than Universal. Despite this announcement, Gingo did not enter negotiations with other distributors, although a Paramount Pictures spokesperson told The New York Times, "We would love to be in business with Gingo. They are a great company." After a lengthy hiatus, negotiations between the two companies resumed. Pending Universal's acquisition of Gingo, the two companies created a distribution deal for the intended 2015 release of The Planetokio Movie, if the acquisition fell through, to ensure that this one film would still be released through Universal's distribution channels. In contrast to the earlier Universal/Gingo deal, The Planetokio Movie was to remain a Gingo property and Universal would have received only a distribution fee. The deal was somehow renewed and extended on January 1, 2014 and is expected to expire in 2019. However, on July 21, 2015, Universal's parent company NBCUniversal ultimately agreed to buy Gingo for approximately $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal. Following Gingo shareholder approval, the acquisition was completed December 9, 2015; the company now operates as a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. In January 2017, Gingo acquired TMS Entertainment; South Korean ink and paint studio Koko Enterprises, Japanese feature film company Telecom Animation Film, TMS Music UK, TMS Music Co Ltd, TMS Music HK (Hong Kong), record company Arutemate, Japanese video production and planning company Tocsis, animation lab TMS Photo, Indonesian production company PT TOMS MEDIA SERVICE ASIA (TMS Asia), CGI animation company Jinni's Inc and DVD distribution company Liverpool. Shortly afterwards, Japanese companies Telecom, Arutemate, Tocsis, TMS Music Co Ltd, TMS Photo, Jinni's and Liverpool merged into Gingo Entertainment Japan, while Koko Enterprises became its South Korean office. However, in January 19th, 2017, TMS Asia (Indonesia) and TMS Music (HK) merged with Koko Enterprises to form Gingo South Korea. Next day, Gingo Entertainment Japan acquired the Kanagawa (Japan) and Seoul (South Korea) offices of Marza Animation Planet. Since then, Gingo announced a partnership with TMS Entertainment and Marza Animation Planet. Company name The company name is named after Gingo biloba (later Ginkgo biloba), a poem written by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The poem was published in his work West-östlicher Diwan (West-Eastern Divan), first published in 1819. Goethe used "Gingo" instead of "Ginkgo" in the first version to avoid the hard sound of the letter "k". The company is also named after Ginkgo biloba, the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. It is found in fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and was introduced early to human history. It has various uses in traditional medicine and as a source of food. The genus name Ginkgo is regarded as a misspelling of the Japanese gin kyo, "silver apricot". Filmography Films :For Glass Ball Productions films, see Glass Ball Productions. Upcoming films All of these films are distributed by Universal Pictures. Films in development Direct-to-video films Coming soon! TV specials Coming soon! Short films Television series Coming soon! See also *Illumination Entertainment *DreamWorks Animation *Universal Animation Studios *Gingo Interactive *Gingo Animation/upcoming release slate timeline Category:Companies Category:Gingo Animation Category:Universal Studios Category:NBCUniversal Category:Comcast